US, China battle for influence in Asia in 2014 – “It may be impossible to predict what’s in store for Asia in 2014. But at least one thing is for sure: The balance of power between the U.S. and China will have a decisive impact on the region’s political landscape.”

Democracy in Peril in Asia – “Street protests in three Asian countries — Cambodia, Bangladesh and Thailand — are a vivid reminder of the fragile state of democracy in many developing countries, particularly those that do not have independent judiciaries and professional police forces and militaries.”

Indonesia mayor strikes fear into Surabaya’s loafing bureaucrats – “While Joko Widodo, the governor of Jakarta and a presidential frontrunner, has been grabbing all the headlines with his no-nonsense drive to revamp the ailing capital, Ms [Tri Risma] Harini [the mayor of Surabaya] has been pursuing a quieter but no less effective revolution in Surabaya, on the eastern side of the island of Java.”